Khao Lak (similan islands) liveaboards adviced needed

[doudoumao2001]

Hi eveyone, I did some research about liveaboards for similan islands diving, looks like every one suggested to stay at khao lak, and it is the best spot to depart for the trip.


Now! I am a AOW, my husband is not certified at all, does he need to get certified before the trip or he can do it all during the liveaboards? and for the similan islands live aboard sites, does it require 30 meter plus certificate ?


Also I am looking at 4-7 days on board, but some companies do 4 days, some do 5 days, some do 6 days, some even do 7 days, I am really confused which one suits me, basically want to cover the best and most good reviewed sites.


Can any one advice a good company as well? I am a bit of lost among those diving center's webistes!


---------- Post added July 8th, 2015 at 12:45 AM ----------

oh, i am going in next Jan. for about 10 days

 

[decompression]

My wife and I spent 3 weeks diving with Sea Bees, including 4 days on a live aboard to the Similans. They are an excellent company, very professional, fun and efficient. I highly recommend them.

I would also say that, if possible, your husband should get certified before the trip so you can dive together and enjoy the trip instead of him using 4 dives to certify and miss what you'll see.

They use dive sites that serve all divers levels. If your hubby completes OW before the trip, it could be a good idea to do Adv while on the liveaboard. It's a good way to get experience/exposure to dives and I'm sure you could be part of those dives.

Choose the length of time that you can afford. There is no shortage of great dive sites.....whale sharks, giant Manta's, lots of life to see.


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[stevenl]

He should get certified before the trip. On most boats he will not be allowed to dive, on some he will but it will be much more expensive plus very limited. On top of that, many boats these days require to have at least the AOW deep certificate. This can also easily be done on board though.

Do a trip of minimum 4 days/4 nights, which is the standard really. Since you mention '4-7 days', you could use the remaining 3 days to get your husband certified

 

[MikkelBC]

Definitely get your husband certified to at least open water before the liveaboard. It's a waste of good boat time to do the open water on board. He should also do his advanced open water, but doing that on board is actually not a bad idea. It means that you will be sure to be guided by an instructor. Book it ahead, of course. Another good course to do on the liveaboard is nitrox.
2 years ago I did 7 days on Scuba Adventure (Scuba Diving Phuket Thailand | Liveaboard : Scuba cat diving) which consists of 4 days to Similans and other northern sites plus 3 days to the southern sites. This was a very nice trip with very personal service. They now have a new tour leader and management, so I don't know the new people personally.
Last year I did 2 back to back 4 day trips on the Pawara (Similan Islands Liveaboards Diving - West Coast Divers). This is a bigger boat with more guests and bathrooms in each cabin. I also enjoyed that a lot. I liked the staff for their skills and attitude.
I would recommend either of these.
Many of the websites you find will be of agents who can book for you with many different operators. This can be a good thing if you need the agent's help to find the right boat for you. I would not have found Scubacat if it hadn't been for Marcia ("Quero" in this forum). But if I already know which boat I want, I prefer to book directly. It helps avoid details getting lost in communication.
I hope you have a great trip!

 

[doudoumao2001]

He should get certified before the trip. On most boats he will not be allowed to dive, on some he will but it will be much more expensive plus very limited. On top of that, many boats these days require to have at least the AOW deep certificate. This can also easily be done on board though.

Do a trip of minimum 4 days/4 nights, which is the standard really. Since you mention '4-7 days', you could use the remaining 3 days to get your husband certified

thanks for the advice, do you recommend he get certified as OW and AOW together before the trip, or he can get certified as OW, and get his course done on the boat ? we want to do things together, dont want to be separated into two groups just because he need to do the course

---------- Post added July 8th, 2015 at 10:58 PM ----------

thanks every one, very useful advise

 

[decompression]

I'm sure he could do adv on the boat, for a course fee. Checkout the websites and email prospective companies that you're considering. If I may, nitrox is also a great course to have before or taking on the boat.


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[gwklein]

Your husband should get certified to AOW before getting on a live-aboard dive boat. If your husband finds he does not like diving or is not able to dive for some reason, there is not much else to do on live-aboards other than to dive, talk about diving, suntan, eat, read, look at the scenery and sleep. Some boats do offer land excursions but these excursions are generally no more than for a few hours. A 4 day trip is a good length for your first live-aboard. In this amount of time you will find out if you want to dive, dive, dive or whether day boats are more your style.

Thailand does have tourist regulations that allegedly require dive operators to check to make sure that the divers they take out have the certification or experience level for the type (depth) of diving the boat is scheduled to do. Some operators followed the regulations and some did not. Because of complaints the Thai's regulations were not being followed, particularly as it related to the protection of the reefs, last year the Thai Navy took over the enforcement of the tourist regulations. Don't know if much has changed though.

I have used Sea Dragon both for a 7-day liveaboard and for day trips. They provide all equipment including a dive computer as part of their posted prices. They offer a budget liveaboard (no A/C in group sleeping area). However, another boat has two levels of accommodations: A/C in the bunk areas or private en suite rooms with A/C. Diving is in groups of 4 divers lead by a DM. Divers are grouped by skill level. Most dives are in the 75 to 90 feet range (average depth of 45 feet) for 55 minutes so a computer really is a necessity. Nitrox and nitrox certification are offered on the boat.

 

[srt1548]

Your husband should definitely get certified before a liveaboard. If you have time, you could go to Koh Phi Phi where he could do his referral dives thenbuild up his confidence before joining the boat. Similan Islands diving is great and he wouldn't get the best of it if he is a complete newbie or just learning.

i also second West Coast Divers boat the Pawara. The trip was well organised, mainly European crew and a very nice boat. My trip report is here Diving Richelieu Rock and the Similan Islands, Thailand | Bags of Adventure

 

[Scuba Cat Diving]

Definitely get your husband certified to at least open water before the liveaboard. It's a waste of good boat time to do the open water on board. He should also do his advanced open water, but doing that on board is actually not a bad idea. It means that you will be sure to be guided by an instructor. Book it ahead, of course. Another good course to do on the liveaboard is nitrox.
2 years ago I did 7 days on Scuba Adventure (Scuba Diving Phuket Thailand | Liveaboard : Scuba cat diving) which consists of 4 days to Similans and other northern sites plus 3 days to the southern sites. This was a


Thanks MikkelBC, yes we do offer the 7 day liveaboard, we can also offer the open water course on board, BUT we do with a difference. Your husband would complete 3 of the required 4 dives BEFORE going onto the boat, this means on the check dive for the trip he will receive his open water license. He completes the theory online before arriving and then does the pool and 3 dives, then joins the liveaboard. He then moves directly onto the advanced course so the diving will not be restricted by depth for the trip. This is a great way to get certified as he will ahve his instructor with him for the duration of the trip to pass on tips and advise. You can of course join him with the instructor for the dives.
You cna message me for more details if you want them.....

 

[stevenl]

My opinion: don't do (even part of) the open water course on a liveaboard, do it in full landbased.

Thailand does have tourist regulations that allegedly require dive operators to check to make sure that the divers they take out have the certification or experience level for the type (depth) of diving the boat is scheduled to do. Some operators followed the regulations and some did not. Because of complaints the Thai's regulations were not being followed, particularly as it related to the protection of the reefs, last year the Thai Navy took over the enforcement of the tourist regulations. Don't know if much has changed though.

I don't know who told you this, but none of it is correct.